Easy!!
Independent Review by Peter Brett
Aimed at jobbing builders and keen home builders. Compact, multi-speed, economical way of saving effort when mixing tubs of plaster or mortar. Available in 110v too.
Also supplied is a pair of spare carbon brushes. It is recommended that after
100 hours of work (= a lot of plaster/mortar) the brushes should be replaced. This is easily done via the external black brush caps on the upper motor housing. I had purchased a 25Kg bag of mortar in order to do some gap filling in the
steps leading to my workshop where I suspect that water is draining straight in during heavy rainstorms. I simply tipped the whole lot into a gorilla tub, leveled it out a bit and added a bit of water from the hose. I then worked the paddle straight into the mixture before starting it on the slow gear and at a slowish (not the lowest) speed. The soft start on the motor is a boon in this situation as it allows the user to get full control of the mix before the selected speed kicks in, which reduces splattering. The mixer did not flinch at all despite the mixture being a bit dry at first. As I added a bit more water to get the consistency I needed, the mixer really got going and literally, within minutes, I had a good mixture of mortar ready to be used. Although it takes a bit of practice for a beginner to develop the few skills
necessary to use a paddle mixer, the soft start and the proximity of the speed control on the handles made it easy to control the torque and also allowed me to move the paddle around in the bottom of the tub to gather up all the mortar mix that inevitably gets moved to the perimeter of it. In short, for a price of just over £100, the experienced builder or even a keen
DIYer can save the backbreaking job of mixing mortar or plaster by hand by investing in the FOX mixer. A bargain I think.
Guest Column
We all know that technology has played a huge part in transforming the trades in the past 20 years or so. Many of the most difficult and awkward tasks have been made quicker, easier and less hassle and while we all recognise that technology can help us a lot, it’s always a trick working out which products are going to help us the most. After all, who wants to shell out for a piece of kit they’ll never use? It’s maybe
safe to say as well that pretty much every one of us has invested in new equipment only to see it become outdated a few months later. With things moving so fast, it’s never easy to know when and what to buy. With that in mind, here’s a look at some of the power tool advances we might see on site over the next couple of years. Cordless
power tools have been fantastic for tradespeople. When it arrived Lithium Ion was a significant step forward from NiCd but it seems we won’t see another chemistry replace it for several years. However, Lithium Ion is advancing at great pace and we will begin to see tools with 5-8Ah batteries from most of the major manufacturers over the next 12 months. So, if you can wait to buy one of those you’ll get much better battery life and quicker charging. New brushless motor technology offers lighter kit with more torque.
The economies of scale will kick in as more and more factories are fitted out to produce them and tools using these motors will become much cheaper. I expect they’ll be paired up with the improved Lithium Ion batteries and we can then anticipate cordless tools we haven’t seen before, like mag drills, mitre saws and maybe even chainsaws. This combination could well replace gas or corded motors over the next 5 years. With brushless technology we can also expect to see certain 12V tools
with power comparable to compact 18V kit but with a couple of differences – they’ll easily beat the 18V stuff on price and each charge will, of course, last far longer. Again, if you’re in the market for a powerful drill especially, then I’d wait and snap up a brushless 12 Volt. With the construction industry looking good again, I’d expect the power
tool manufacturers to step up their research and development activity. If tradespeople are looking to buy new kit these companies should be more willing to innovate and we should see them launching all kinds of new products. At the minute though, brushless motors and improved Lithium Ion batteries look like the main thrust of progress over the foreseeable future. Keep your eyes peeled for the obvious bargains but be patient wherever possible. It often pays to buy the best kit you can afford but if you neglect it, you’re asking for problems regardless. Craig Phillips is brand ambassador for Blaklader workwear, for more information visit the website:
www.blaklader.com/gb
telephone 01444 440188 ToolBUSINESS+HIRE 7
Celebrity
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